PalenQ

Paris is not the only European capital experiencing unusual smog problems recently - London has been hit by a sand storm blowing up from the Sahara - meanwhile the temps soar into the 70s - ah daffodils covered with sand...

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/467...-Cameron-s-car

Rubicund

Not just London, but most of England. My car is covered in sand up here near Manchester. The temperatures up here are much lower today, somewhere around 50F.

bilboburgler

Only the Express could use units that no one on this side of the pond would understand under 65. 70 whats? All I know is it stays about 10C in Yorkshire.

alanRow

Bunch of southern Jessies, bit of grit in the air - luxury.

<i>All I know is it stays about 10C in Yorkshire.</i>

Indeed, though the sun did make an appearance on Tuesday, rest of the week you wouldn't have been able to see the smog for the fog.

anicecupoftea

Have other parts of the UK not seen Sahara rain before? It's a frequent occurrence in Norfolk all through spring and summer. The covering of dirty splodges on the car windscreen and paintwork is how you know it's been raining if you've been cooped up inside all day.

Heimdall

It's hardly a sandstorm (or sand stone) — just a bit of Sahara dust in the upper atmosphere, and yes, it happens frequently.

PalenQ

Just a bit of dust in upper atmosphere would cover Cameron's car in dust? Quite a dust up it seems. No pun intended.

nanabee

How big were these stones?

Smeagol

I didn't see stones, just dust.....

kerouac

I haven't seen Sahara dust in Paris for many years, so it clearly takes a more westerly path when it comes north.

alanRow

<i>How big were these stones?</i>

Smaller than the one in this -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ute-opens.html

Heimdall

<i>Just a bit of dust in upper atmosphere would cover Cameron's car in dust? Quite a dust up it seems. No pun intended.</i>

That looks like mostly dew in the picture, PalenQ. Cars left out overnight this time of the year nearly always have a coating of dew in the morning, perhaps mixed with a little dust from the atmosphere. To call that a sandstorm is a huge exaggeration.

We do sometimes get dust storms in the east of England, though — they are called "fen blows".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-22219642

Heimdall

Hmm...just had a look at the date of the story in PalenQ's link. Were you taken in by an April Fools joke, PQ?

PalenQ

No it was also on CNN News the next day - it is a fact. Where do you live?

jamikins

Not exactly a sand storm... In london it has just been smoggy...

Smeagol

It's appeared "smoggy in other parts of England too, my car has been dirtier than usual but I haven't seen any sand stones.... Just a ( sand) storm in a tea cup really!!!

Heimdall

I live in the east of England, where the air pollution peaked a day earlier than in London. We had the same level 10 pollution, and all I noticed was the air being a little hazier than usual. Much of the smog came from air pollution drifting across the North Sea from the continent.

The same story may have appeared on CNN, but what PalenQ saw in the Express photo was dew on the car, not Sahara sand. There may have been bit of dust mixed in with the dew, but I couldn't see it even when zooming in on the photo. Appropriate that the story was published on April 1st. ;-)

PalenQ

Oops I did not even notice my typo is the heading - sand stone - should have been storm and should really have been dust storm.

sorry. - not an April's Fool joke in April 2nd's Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/env...sthmatics.html

PatrickLondon

The high level of air pollution has been blamed, in part, on the Sahara dust caught up in it, but it's been the familiar sort of smog as well, only a lot higher than in the past. It's been unpleasant, but it's more or less cleared now. I never thought I would say this so soon after the winter we've had - fortunately some rain is forecast for the weekend and early next week to help wash away the muck.

MissPrism

We had quite a lot of reddish sand on our car in Cheshire. It's not uncommon